Over the Net
by ShrinkingViolet713
Summary: Before Bobby and Lindsay start dating the first time, Lindsay has a secret!


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Thursday evening 5:00 Donnell and Associates office.

"Hey Lindsay?" Ellenor looked up from the paper work she was finishing. "You staying late tonight?"

Lindsay shook her head. "Not tonight. You?"

Before the other woman could answer, Bobby emerged from his office. He'd started looking forward to the end of the day when the office was dark and quiet, except for him and Lindsay working at their desks. It was comforting that she was there, head bent over her cases, lower lip caught between her teeth. But now that he thought of it, she'd left early last Thursday also. 

"Where're you going?" He asked, striving for a casual tone. By the strange looks Eugene, Rebecca, Ellenor and Lindsay gave him, Bobby guessed he'd failed. 

"Uh...out...with Helen." Lindsay answered awkwardly. There was no _way_ she was going to tell Bobby where she really going.

Bobby smirked. "Out with Helen? Better be careful."

"Thanks Bobby," Lindsay smirked back. "But I'm a big girl. I think I can take care of myself."

Ellenor and Rebecca exchanged looks and giggled. "You tell him Linds!"

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Thanks Bec. Now I gotta go." She grabbed her briefcase and hurried out the door.

She arrived home fifteen minutes later and found Helen pacing the apartment already dressed. 

"Where have you been?!"

Lindsay rolled her baby blue eyes and headed straight for her bedroom to change. "Sorry, I couldn't find a cab!"

"How's the sexy senior partner?" Helen asked as she walked into Lindsay's room, paying no attention that her friend was changing clothes.

"Bobby? He's fine. A little weird though."

"Weird?" Helen plopped onto the bed and waited for an explanation.

"He acted like I have no right to ever come home or have a life outside that office."

Helen laughed. "Babe, I hate to tell you this, but except for this, you don't have a life."

Lindsay glared at her friend in the mirror. "Thanks Helen. Just because my bed isn't as busy as yours..."

"Does mean you're in a funk. I still think you should put the moves on Delicious Donnell."

Lindsay laughed as she sat on the bed to put her shoes on and bent over, hoping that Helen wouldn't see the blush creeping up her cheeks. "How do you come up with these names for him?"

"It's a gift. You ready yet?"

Lindsay stood and grabbed her coat. "Yeah. Let's go."

As they walked to Helen's car, she had an idea. "Hey, why don't you invite them to come?"

"Helen, I do this to forget about work. Bringing it with might hinder the relaxing process."

Helen shrugged, thinking that it might be nice to look up and see Bobby in the bleachers staring down at her.

Bobby sat at his desk half an hour later. Rebecca claimed he was sulking, but he refused to believe her. He wasn't sulking. He was...thinking. Thinking about how he'd been making progress with Lindsay. Slow progress, yes. But progress none the less. Now she was keeping something from him. He was in the middle of building a nice little bout of righteous indignation when the phone rang.

"Donnell and Associates, Bobby Donnell speaking."

"Bobby, it's Maggie." Bobby smiled at his cousin's voice. "What're you doing tonight?"

"Uh...working?"

"You work too much."

"Yeah, but I have a firm to run."

"Well take a night off. Come watch me play volleyball."

Bobby smiled. "I'd like to Mags. Really I would. But I have too much work."

"It won't kill you to take a night off."

"Mags, really, tonight isn't the best."

"I'll tell Gramma Donnell."

Bobby sighed. "Fine. Where and when?"

"Seven o'clock at the gym by my house."

"Fine. I might bring some people from my firm."

"That's great! We can use all the fans we can get."

"K. See you later Maggie." Bobby hung up the phone and ventured into the main office. He wasn't sure that everyone would be thrilled about going with but he was not going to be stranded alone at a volleyball game. Thankfully, Jimmy, Rebecca and Ellenor were still there. Eugene had left 15 minutes after Lindsay to spend some time with his son. "So, what are you all doing tonight?"

The lawyers looked at him. "Working. Sleeping. The usual." Ellenor was apparently the spokesperson for the group.

"Can you all put it off until tomorrow?"

"Not that I wouldn't love to leave this filing until tomorrow-"

"What filing?" Jimmy teased Rebecca. The young receptionist was notorious for her unusual filing system. 

"Very funny." Rebecca shot back.

"What do you need us to do Bobby?" Ellenor asked, bringing the focus back to the matter at hand.

"This may sound strange..."

"Uh-oh." Jimmy warned. "This don't sound good Bobby."

"It's nothing bad really," Bobby hedged. "My cousin Maggie just called. She's been bugging me to come see her play volleyball because she thinks that I'd like one of the girls on her team."

"And?" Rebecca wasn't sure that she liked the sound of that.

"I kinda told her that I was bringing you guys."

"What?"

"Bobby, no!"

Jimmy perked up. "Girls in little shorts?"

Bobby rolled his eyes and sighed in that way that said he meant business. "Please? I can't face the idea of a blind date. It'll be fun!"

"I'm in!" Jimmy immediately volunteered. He hadn't had a date in awhile. Maybe this would be a good way to find a girl.

"Bobby, I'm really not comfortable with this."

"Ellenor, please." Bobby begged. "I really don't want to do this alone. I'm not in the mood."

"You're in the 'sulk over Lindsay going out' mood," Rebecca put in.

"Just for that, you're coming," Bobby snapped.

Rebecca let out a groan. "Damn!"

Ellenor sighed. "Fine, I'll come. But no mention of lujack next week."

"Fine. I'll take the next shitty case. Happy Ellenor?"

Ellenor gave him a long look which clearly said that she wasn't happy about watching a volleyball game, but kept her mouth shut. 

The lawyers packed up and went to their houses to change. An hour later, Bobby picked his friends up at their houses. They drove to the gym, paid two dollars each to get in, actually Bobby paid eight dollars for all of them and bought the others sodas and hot dogs, and found seats on the bleachers. A tall woman with dark curly hair turned, smiled, and waved. Bobby waved back.

"That's Maggie," he explained. "She and her husband just moved here from New York."

Jimmy was paying more attention to the other girls running back and forth on the court. "Hey Bobby, thanks for bringing us here!" He exclaimed enthusiastically. "Look at that one, in the little shorts."

Bobby looked down at the court and smiled a little. Just because he missed Lindsay didn't mean he couldn't appreciate. He glanced at the woman Jimmy was pointing at, number 24. Her dark hair was pulled into a tight ponytail and was wearing a pair of short tight black shorts with her number on the butt that showed long thin legs with a bright blue sports bra. "Look at that one." Bobby gestured to number 12 who was talking to the girl Jimmy had seen. She had honey-brown hair that was pulled up, her shorts showed smooth tanned legs that went on for miles despite the fact that she didn't look all that tall, and her tight work out top showed her small build. Bobby was half in lust when Rebecca let out a laugh.

"You guys are lawyers?"

"Yeah." Bobby and Jimmy answered in unison. Bobby looked at his friend then. 

"Why?"

Ellenor was smirking now too. "Not very observant, are you?"

"What are you talking about?"

Rebecca and Ellenor were now giggling helplessly. "Read...her...shirt," Rebecca managed to get out.

Bobby looked down, found 12, and nearly choked. On the back of that cute little tank top, right above number 12, were four little letters. D-O-L-E. 

"Lindsay," he choked.

"Huh?" Jimmy looked at Bobby, then gasped as 24 turned around. "Helen?!"

Helen glanced up at the few spectators, hoping to see a good looking man, and made a strange choking noise. "Linds?"

"Yeah?"

"They're here."

Lindsay raised a brow. "Who's here?"

"Uh...the people from your firm. Bobby and Ellenor and the one with the big head and the secretary."

"WHAT?!" Lindsay whipped around, spotted them, and went dead white. "Oh God. What are they doing here?"

"Maybe they're here to cheer you on."

Lindsay shook her head. "I didn't tell them where we were going."

Before she could do more than offer a feeble wave, the ref blew his whistle and Helen gently shoved her into position. The other team served first and Lindsay hurried to bump the ball. But as she set herself, she realized that Bobby was watching her. When she hit the ball it ricocheted off both arms and out of bounds. She missed another bump two serves later and a set after that. 

Helen watched, horrified. Lindsay almost never missed a shot. Certainly not easy shots like those! Before the next shot, she heard a shout from the bleachers.

"Go Lindsay!"

Helen's eyes grew big. After the next serve she called time out and pulled Lindsay off to the side.

"Hey Babe. What's up?"

"I don't know," Lindsay moaned. She loved volleyball, had played since high school, and it was great for relieving the tension of defending drug dealers. 

"Is it Bobby?" Helen asked.

"No! Of course not." Lindsay sighed, "I'm just not used to having people watch me."

Helen smiled. "Ignore them. Concentrate. Like in court."

Lindsay nodded and the ref blew his whistle to signal the end of the time out. She managed to put her firm out of her head and concentrated on playing. The serve was close to the ground. Lindsay dove, hit the ball, and smacked into the floor. Bobby was on his feet in a second. All he could think was that she'd hurt herself. Then she popped up, brushed her hands over her shorts, and prepared for the next serve. Bobby breathed a sigh of relief and sat down. He couldn't help being surprised that Lindsay was actually good. She'd never mentioned playing any sport. Though to be honest, he hadn't asked. 

Helen and Lindsay seemed to make a pretty good team. They could read each other and kept up a steady run of chatter. The lawyers in the stands were surprised. Both Lindsay and Helen were good. Very good. Watching the DA in court, one would never suspect that she was athletic, but she and Lindsay both hit the floor after several dives and attacked the ball the same way they attacked witnesses for the opposing side with the same sense of competitiveness and expressions of being out for blood that they wore when determined to win. Helen served before Lindsay, underhand, and the other team returned it straight into a hole. They immediately got the serve back with a quick attack from Maggie. Lindsay was serving. She tossed the ball into the air, leapt up, arched her whole body back, then forward and smacked the ball as hard as she could. It flew over the net like a bullet and straight into the hole she'd seen. Her next serve was returned easily. Helen jumped in the air and from the back row, she spiked it over the net for the point. The other team returned the next serve and one of Lindsay and Helen's teammates hit the ball out of bounds. 

The end of the second match, after Lindsay and Helen's team had won the first game, they were up 24-23. The serve came over the net and Lindsay bumped the ball to Helen who set her up. Lindsay jumped up and threw all her weight into the spike. It shot across the net and hit the ground before the opposing team could reach it. The ref blew his whistle twice, crossing his hands over his chest signaling end of the game. Lindsay and Helen jumped up and down, squealing in excitement and hugged each other. Maggie joined them, also jumping up and down. She turned then and waved Bobby and the rest of the firm down. Bobby hurried down the bleachers and over to the trio of women. 

Maggie threw her arms around his neck in greeting. "Hey cousin. Long time no see."

Bobby kissed her cheek and smiled. "Great game." Then his eyes traveled to Lindsay who blushed and looked at the ground. 

Helen, never one to pass up an opportunity, smiled into Bobby's deep blue eyes. "So what brings you all down here?"

Maggie laughed and threw an arm around her cousin's shoulders. "Helen, Lindsay, you appear to already know my cousin, Bobby."

"Bobby's your cousin?" Lindsay managed to get out, sounding horrified and angry at the same time.

"Yeah, I got all the good looks in the family."

"Oh, I wouldn't go that far, no offense Maggie. But I think Bobby got some of them." Helen flirted. She jabbed Lindsay subtly in the side, a cue to say something. But all Lindsay could do was think how good Bobby looked in faded blue jeans and the black sweater with his hair a little mussed and piercing blue eyes staring at her like he could see into her soul. And how she must look in comparison, all sweaty with no make up and her hair falling out of the pony tail she'd pulled it into.

"Bobby's the one I've been trying to set you up with, Lindsay."

Lindsay smiled weakly and Bobby nearly melted. "You did good out there." It was the most intelligent thing he could think to say.

"Thanks." Lindsay blushed a little and looked away.

Maggie leaned up and kissed her cousin's cheek. "Thanks for coming. I gotta run though. Patrick's watching the rugrat."

"How is Michael?"

"Getting into everything as usual. You should come by and see him."

Bobby smiled. "I just might." Maggie ran off and Bobby turned back to his friends. Ellenor, Rebecca, and Jimmy had descended the stands and were congratulating Lindsay and Helen on the game. 

"Why don't we go celebrate your victory by going out to dinner?"

"Sounds good." Helen batted her eyelashes. 

Ellenor, Rebecca, and Jimmy agreed, but Lindsay stayed silent.

"Come on, Linds. It'll be fun." Helen encouraged. 

"I really can't," Lindsay protested. "I have work to catch up on and I'm not really dressed for it."

"You can work tomorrow, and there are showers here." Helen was determined to get her friend out of her shell.

Lindsay sighed. There was no real way around it, but much to her surprise, she didn't really want to. "Okay, can you guys give us half an hour?"

Bobby nodded, glad that she'd agreed to come.

Lindsay and Helen hurried into the locker room and quickly showered and changed. Within forty minutes, the lawyers were all seated at a table in Hanrahan's eating dinner and getting a little tipsy. They finished dinner, but were loathe to end the evening so soon. They adjourned to the games that were kept in the back of the pub. Helen flirted with some guys playing pool and got them to "help her" learn how to play while Jimmy, Rebecca, and Ellenor played darts. Bobby leaned against the foosball table next to Lindsay, who was laughing quietly.

"What's so funny?"

Lindsay inclined her head at Helen. "She made beer money at Harvard by playing pool. She doesn't need help."

Bobby laughed too. "How about you?"

"Nah, I suck at that game."

"You were pretty great tonight."

Lindsay blushed and looked at the ground. "Thanks."

"Played long?"

"I played a little during high school, really started taking it seriously in college. This is for fun, it keeps the stress from getting to me."

"Yeah," Bobby nodded. "We all need something like that."

Lindsay turned, surprised. "What do you do?"

Now it was Bobby's turn to blush. "I look at you."

"Really?" The thought both amused and intrigued her.

"Yeah." Bobby turned to face her. "You're beautiful, Linds."

Lindsay blushed again, Bobby had that effect on her, and smiled. Bobby reached out and gently cupped her face in his hands, drawing her closer. She met his lips and melted into his embrace easily, like it was the most natural thing in the world, as her co-workers cheered. 


End file.
